Expression and significance of hypoxemia-inducible factor-1α in osteosarcoma of the jaws

Objective. The objective of this study was to examine the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) in osteosarcoma of the jaw (OSJ) and its relationships with tumoral angiogenesis and clinicopathologic characteristics. Study design. Streptavidin peroxidase immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of HIF-1 alpha and CD34 in paraffin-embedded samples from 25 patients. There were 14 male and 11 female patients, ages ranged from 3 to 63 years. Results. HIF-1 alpha was overexpressed in OSJ. HIF-1 alpha expression was correlated with tumoral microvascular density, as well as with the size, pathologic grade, and clinical stage of OSJ. Expression of HIF-1 alpha was also correlated with clinicopathologic characteristics, such as primary occurrence or recurrence of the tumor, but not with metastasis. Conclusion. HIF-1 alpha was significantly correlated with the size, pathologic grade, clinical stage, and primary occurrence or recurrence of the OSJ. HIF-1 alpha appeared to promote tumoral angiogenesis in OSJ and may be an important target in antitumoral therapy.